WASHINGTON - The Tiffany diamond, with a weight of 128.54 carats, is on loan to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington until September.

It is rare for the famous jewel, "one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds ever discovered," to take a trip outside New York where Tiffany & Co. headquarters is located, The Washington Post said Wednesday.

Mined in South Africa in 1877, the newspaper said the stone was cut from a large mass weighing 287.42 carats. The Tiffany is even more rare because it has 82 facets instead of the customary 58. It is about one inch wide.

The diamond's fame expanded when Audrey Hepburn wore it in publicity photos for the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

The diamond is displayed in a brooch, "with a bird of yellow and white pave diamonds with a ruby eye perched on top," the Post said.